Busted Idol! Curtis ‘CJ’ Finch Jr’s Criminal Past Exposed, Stole A Laptop From Church Choir Member – American Idol hopeful, Curtis “CJ” Finch Jr. has the voice of an angel, but the singer also has a shocking criminal record – after stealing a laptop from a fellow church choir member! Finch brought down the house with his rendition of God Is Able, but in 2010 he was arrested after stealing a $1,500 Apple MacBook from another choir student the National Enquirer is exclusively reporting. – Read more at Radar Online
Lauren Alaina chats about her second album from the studio where she is recording. Watch at Facebook.
Lauren Alaina, who has been in South Koreo with the Special Olympics tweets, “I had so much fun with the @specialolympics Unified Sports Experience! I love snowshoeing! Who knew?? #Korea2013”
‘Nashville’ star Charles Esten hosts TJ Martell Foundation’s Nashville Honors Gala – A viewer favorite from ABC’s “Nashville” will help salute four noteworthy figures from the real Music City on March 10 at the Hutton Hotel. Charles Esten, who plays country songsmith “Deacon Claybourne” on the show, has been announced as host of the T.J. Martell Foundation’s fifth annual Nashville Honors Gala. – Read more at Tennessean.com
American Idol: The Education of Scotty McCreery – Stay in school, don’t quit your day job. Those are two clichés favored by people giving advice to youngsters interested in creative pursuits. And Scotty McCreery is heeding those warnings—despite having a music career that’s already in full bloom.
The 19-year-old singer won American Idol the year before last, scoring a record deal worth $250,000. His debut album, Clear As Day, came out in October 2011 and quickly earned platinum certification in the U.S. He toured with Brad Paisley and the Band Perry, sang the national anthem at a World Series game, released a Christmas album and pulled in an estimated $4 million last year. – Read more at Forbes
Jim Cantiello’s Idol In Minute
Carrie Underwood: Hockey Lockout Scrapped January Plans – Carrie Underwood admits she was one of the last holdouts when it came to getting on the Twitter bandwagon, but now that she’s tried it she is loving it. In fact, fans might have seen a few more tweets from Carrie this month, because she has something rare going on in her life: time on her hands. “I purposely took January off so I could be home a lot more and watch hockey, and here we are, there’s not been any hockey,” the singer says with a rueful laugh while speaking to a group of journalists recently in Nashville. – Read more at The Boot
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW w KRIS ALLEN (No Audience Tracks)
Rethinking Seacrest – IT’S EASY TO MAKE FUN of Ryan Seacrest — for his ubiquity on the show business landscape, for his over-weaning ambition, for his role in unleashing the Kardashian clan on America and for his relentless pursuit of celebrities as they head into award shows (captured most memorably a few years ago when he was shown on camera practically chasing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie down the red carpet as they seemed determined to avoid him and his E! camera crew). – Read more at New York Times
Katharine McPhee: Fabulous Flapper in the Big Apple – Standing out, even on the streets of New York City, Katharine McPhee headed to the set of “Smash” on Wednesday (January 30). The 28-year-old singer/actress sported a flapper-style dress, a long turquoise coat, and dark lipstick as she strutted her stuff in the busy Big Apple. – See the photos at Celebrity-Gossip
Chris Colfer Covers ‘August Man’ February 2013 (Exclusive) – Chris Colfer takes the cover of August Man Malaysia‘s February 2013 issue, on newsstands February 1. Here is what the 22-year-old Glee actor had to share with the mag: On his developing interest in fashion: “I’ve always thought fashion should be something that makes you feel good on the inside and outside. I’m slowly coming around to the whole psychology behind it. My favorite designers are Ben Sherman, Dior and Alexander McQueen.” – See the Photos at Just Jared
Glee’s Jacob Artist on Stripping Down, Puck’s New Leaf and Fitness Tips From Chord Overstreet – So far this season, the hard exterior of Glee newbie Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist) has thawed to reveal a sweet and surprisingly tender center. But the younger Puckerman will reveal even more when the boys of New Directions strip for a racy school calendar in Thursday’s episode (9/8c on Fox), appropriately titled “Naked.” Artist, 20, is the first to admit he was nervous to show some skin on the Fox musical, but says his cast mates helped calm him down. “I think that we help each other out so much on those days where we have to be shirtless,” he says. “Someone will be like, ‘OK! Drop! [Do] 25 push-ups everybody!’ and then everybody will get down and start doing it. Those were some funny days on set for sure.” – Read more at TV Guide
How “Smash” Became TV’s Biggest Train Wreck – A year ago, Smash began its first season on NBC, critically praised and exceedingly hyped, with the well-funded backing of the network and its chairman, Robert Greenblatt, who considered the musical drama his pet project. Steven Spielberg had dreamed up the concept, and his DreamWorks TV was behind it. But by the time the show had its finale in May, it had become an object of ritualistic ridicule: appointment television for hate-watchers, that new American sport created by social media. Smash’s unsympathetic lead characters, oddly placed musical sequences, schizophrenic tonal shifts, cartoon-like villains who literally say, “You haven’t heard the last of this,” and strangely accessorized actors all became fodder for Twitter jokes. Comedian Julie Klausner even devoted a podcast to Smash, which she called “the best television of all time.” – Read more at Buzzfeed (Longish article is worth the read. Lots of anonymous behind the scenes stuff)
Simon Cowell: sitting pretty at Britain’s Got Talent? – Simon Cowell has always appeared head and shoulders above his fellow Britain’s Got Talent judges – and now we know why. The Sun and Daily Mirror report that the larger-than-life music and TV tycoon has been using a booster cushion to make him seem taller than co-judges, David Walliams, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon. The cunning ruse was revealed after a fan at the Glasgow auditions took pictures. No word yet on whether the heels and the hair add another couple of inches. – Read more at The Guardian
Nicki Minaj: Grammys ‘Had A Different Reason’ To Snub Me – But Minaj, who received three Grammy nominations last year, including best new artist and best rap album for her platinum debut, “Pink Friday,” was shut out when this year’s nominations were announced. “I think that the Grammys had a different reason, that I do not want to discuss … and that’s just between me and them,” she said in a recent interview. “But I respect their organization and I’ll get a Grammy eventually. I’m not worried about it.” A representative for The Recording Academy didn’t immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment. – Read more at The Huffington Post
